Marlyn Glen has been informed by NHS Tayside that although the latest figures for C difficile infection in Tayside results are ” pleasing”, that the 3 month period they cover ” is not a long enough period for us to be confident that any improvement is sustained .”

Ms. Glen had written to the health board following the latest results which she described as “encouraging”.

She said that Health Protection Scotland reported that Tayside had achieved its lowest rates since the beginning of the surveillance, and was now likely to reach the 2011 target of a 30 per reduction in the number of cases of C difficile ” if the trend continues.”

She described the figures as ” encouraging” and asked if NHS Tayside had set or was considering setting its own figure for the reduction in the number of cases of C difficile ,which was lower than Scottish Government figure, for the 2011 target date.

Labour has proposed a 50 per cent reduction by 2011, 20 per cent tougher than the Scottish Government level.

” Healthcare acquired infection such as C difficile-associated disease has been a worrying issue for many in recent years.

“Tough targets for its detection and control must be maintained and met to ensure its damage is minimised as much as possible.

” Tayside’s latest figures for the recorded cases of C difficile , their lowest yet, show that everyone – patients, staff and visitors – is taking responsibility for tackling healthcare acquired infection.”

In reply, NHs Tayside said that though the results were pleasing , 3 months was not a long enough period for them to be confident that any improvement is sustained .

There was a marked seasonal fluctuation driven by admissions and the increase in the number of admissions for community infections .

The figures overall were better described as “stable” at this stage.

Once the HEAT target was achieved they would still continue to implement good practice around prescribing and infection control.

However, it was anticipated that there would be a point where they would reach an irreducible minimum given the ubiquitous nature of this bacterium.

“Our priority will be to ensure that we meet the national targets and there is a great deal of activity around control infection and antimicrobial prescribing to help progress towards these targets.”

(2) The latest Health Protection Scotland report indicates that the quarterly figures for the number of cases of C difficile related disease per 1,000 occupied bed days amongst elderly patients was 0.95 which is substantially down on the 1.33 rate recorded for 2008 overall.

The 0.95 figure was also below the interim target set for January-March 2009 of 1.24

The Scottish Government has set Tayside a 0.98 HEAT target to accomplish by March 2011.

Marlyn Glen has written to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, calling for the Scottish Government to protect NHS Tayside’s budget by giving a commitment that health service budgets will be exempt from future cuts during the economic downturn.

Ms. Glen said that Labour had promised to avoid cutting health spending in England in real terms, but that the SNP had refused to give a similar guarantee on Scotland’s health spending.

Ms. Glen said,

” The health service in Tayside is no stranger to reductions in its spending being made by the SNP Government in Holyrood. ”

She said that it had :

· ordered NHS Tayside to reduce its spending by £35 million in three years ‘ through efficiency savings’

· reduced the health board’s initial revenue allocation by £600,000 last year in real terms

· cut its formula capital allocation in real terms in both of the last two years compared with 2007-08.

· introduced a new funding system that would have seen NHS Tayside just under £11 million worse off this year if it had been fully operational.

Ms. Glen continued,

“I am calling on the Scottish Health Secretary to give the same priority to health spending in Scotland that Labour has already given to England and to exempt it from cuts during this recession.

“Running a government involves making tough decisions on guaranteeing budgets for key services

Marlyn Glen has tabled new questions in the Scottish Parliament on the numbers who have been prosecuted in Dundee and Tayside under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act since it was introduced in 2005.

Ms. Glen is also to contact trade unions whose members are affected by the Act to ascertain whether they have evidence that suggests that the legislation is acting as a deterrent .

The Act is designed to safeguard emergency service workers such as police officers, firefighters or health workers in the course of their duties from assault, obstruction or hindrance.

Earlier this year, she had established in a Parliamentary question that in 2006-07 six people had a charged proved against them in Dundee and Tayside under the Act,

Now, with more information available, Ms. Glen is asking for a more up-to-date picture.

She is asking the relevant trade unions if there is evidence of a trend of a reduction in the number of assaults on staff since the Act has established itself.

Ms. Glen said,

” Emergency service workers should never be on the receiving end of violent, threatening or abusive behaviour.”

188 words

ends

Notes to editor

Questions tabled

To ask the Scottish Executive how may charges related to the Emergency Workers (Scotland)Act 2005 have been reported to the Procurator-Fiscal in Dundee and in Tayside to date in each year since 2005.

To ask the Scottish Executive how many charges under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 have been reported to the Procurator-Fiscal and were the subject of court proceedings in Dundee and in Tayside to date in each year since 2005 ; and by section of the Act

To ask the Scottish Executive how many charges under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 that have been reported to the Procurator-Fiscal in Dundee and in Tayside to date in each year since 2005 resulted in a successful prosecution.

Previous question tabled

Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005
S3W-20564 – Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Date Lodged Wednesday, February 04, 2009): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people had a charge proved in a court in Tayside under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 in 2007-08.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Monday, February 23, 2009): Court Proceedings data for 2007-08 is not yet available; it is due to be published in April 2009.
Data from the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database for the latest year available, 2006-07, shows that there were six persons with a charge proved in Dundee and in Tayside under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005, where this was the main offence.

Marlyn Glen has hailed the success of the dental bursary introduced by the previous Scottish Executive in 2006 in attracting more dentists into the NHS in Tayside.

Ms. Glen has received official Government figures which show that 15 Dundee University dental students who received a dental bursary in their final year are now in vocational training in NHS Tayside.

Ms. Glen’s information also indicates that there are 181 dentists in Scotland, including vocational trainees, who are working in General Dental Services who received a dental bursary.

Ms. Glen said,

” I am very pleased to see how popular the bursary has become in the past 3 years in making NHS dentistry more attractive as a career path.

” Patients are starting to see the benefits of a scheme which will guarantee many more dentists working in the NHS in the years to follow.”

A further 34 Dundee bursary recipients are now in vocational training in 9 other health boards.

Ms. Glen also congratulated parents in Dundee for having achieved a Scottish Government dental health target even before the programme was introduced.
She said, ” The Scottish Government wants to ensure that at least 80 per cent of children aged between 3 and 5 are registered with an NHS dentist by 2011.
“Their programme’s Action Plan was introduced in December 2007, at which time Dundee child registrations with an NHS dentist stood at over 93 per cent.
” Parents in Dundee know that registering their children with a dentist is a simple but necessary step for their dental health.”